My Urban Garden

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This is just the greatest time of year.  My garden is anticipation central – tremendous bounty is about to come.  It’s the garden I work in every day.  It’s the garden for which my neighbors give thanks.  It’s the garden my friends envy.  Each morning I go to my backyard to inspect it (one must be vigilant in one’s garden), tend the plants and soil (one must keep one’s garden neat, clean and free of debris), and generally check things out.  I see that the tomatoes and vegetables are growing bigger, and many of them are beginning to turn from green to their final glorious hues. Whether they will be striped, gold, yellow, orange, red, lilac, purple, brown, white or almost black, it is now that nature begins to reveal her deft hand.

I started gardening thirty years ago, and I never dreamed I would get this much joy out of it.  It is not only about the finished result, the vegetables, fruits and herbs, but it is also very much about the process.  In late Winter I begin to think about just how big my garden will be.  Each year it is bigger than the year before.  Next I check to see when our local Tomatomania event will be held.  Tomatomania, for those of you not familiar with it, is a weekend long celebration and sale of tomatoes and items for tomato culture.  Literally hundreds of varieties of tomato seedlings are offered for sale along with herbs and some vegetables.  Also available are soil, fertilizer, planting forms known as tomato cages along with other necessities for tomato culture.  The best thing about Tomatomania is the gardeners you meet there.  People wonder aloud about varieties they see, and every time, without fail a nearby gardener overhears the musings and weighs in with his experience with the particular cultivar.  It is the place to be to find out about tomatoes.  Check out their website at Tomatomania.com.  This year Bart and I left with 19 tomato varieties. Wow.  That was all I could say.  Well, except that I wanted more. But as with so many things in life, one’s eyes can get bigger than one’s garden plot, so to speak.  I practiced restraint.  Nothing will ruin a tomato harvest faster than a crowded garden.  Those babies need room to breathe.  Good ventilation is a must.

I have my old standbys like Green Zebra, Cuore di Bue, Roma, San Marzano and Black Brandywine.  New to my garden this year are cultivars of Black Ethiopian, Pink Oaxacan, Red Fig, Tigerella, Moon Glow, Sungold, Ananas Noire and Giant Syrian along with many others.

One of my favorite tomatoes is Juliet.  And she is just starting to reveal herself.  Small, ovoid, firm and packed with tomato flavor, the plant is a huge producer.  Juliets are firm, and they cut beautifully.  I use Juliets for salads and pasta dishes, and because they hold their shape so well when cooked, I like to use them on the grill.  One of my favorite things to do with Juliet tomatoes is “Cheesy Eggs”  eggs scrambled with Italian fontina, Juliet tomatoes and basil, finished with Parmigiano Reggiano. For the recipe see my other post for today.

I tried a new Italian zucchini this year,  Zucchini da Pergola.  It is a climber, and, I hope, a good producer.  I have four eggplants, Rosa Bianca, Bianca, Nero and Japanese Eggplant.  We will have lots.  I will update you as the growing season goes on, and I hope my backyard labors will inspire you to start your own garden.

Lilac Peppers